


Love is Her Family

by GothicPixi



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Based of of Ace's "Love is a Child", I love Izzy so I wrote her, M/M, Taakitz finds a kid!, a few critical role jokes whoops, happy candlenight!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-13 21:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13579077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothicPixi/pseuds/GothicPixi
Summary: Izzy is a little older, and a little more like her parents. She loves them very much.





	Love is Her Family

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Acecreatesthings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acecreatesthings/gifts).



> A “Secret Santa” Gift for Ace!
> 
> I wrote something different first, but I wanted to write Izzy because I love her and you completely sold the concept of her to me on the server and in Love is a child.
> 
> Anyway, you’re wonderful and I’m so glad I got to write this for you!  
> I hope you enjoy :)
> 
> (BTW, I added my favorite headcanon for Taako’s last name, so..yeah.)

Isabell (Yuno-fromtivi -)Queen was a teen with ears still a little too big for her head. She loved her family, but she couldn’t tell anyone about them. It had been a rule since before she could remember: the press didn’t know about Taako’s daughter. She’d asked him about it before, but he avoided the question. He would say “They don’t deserve to know you. They wouldn’t be able to handle you.” and move on.  Kravitz wasn’t much help either, just saying something about a bad experience. Her older brother Angus said he thinks it’s about a lie getting out of hand. Izzy didn’t mind when she was smaller, but it’s been years and she just wants to hang out with her dads in public without them having Disguise Self spells on. She couldn’t tell her friends from school about the cool spell Aunt Lup cast, or the ducks Uncle Magnus carved her, or the calligraphy lessons she started with Aunt Lucretia, or her flying and sailing lessons from Davenport.

 

Her classmates said her style was confusing, but that’s because it was a mixture of all her family members. She had every possible article of clothing in three designs: solid black, wild patterns, and blue denim. One day would be a feather cape with red shorts and a bralette, the next it was a sequined dress and tall jean boots, after that a sweater handmade by a goddess and hand-me-down tear-away pants. She had her pick of Taako™ brand anything, and they asked her how she had garnered such a collection. It totally wasn’t because her father was the founder and CEO of the company and lifestyle brand. It wasn’t because Ren would bring her samples and extras. It wasn’t because she was the heir to the Taako™ empire and she couldn’t tell them.

 

Recently, people had been asking her father more about if he was going to start a family with his husband. Taako scoffed: “That is absolutely none of your business.” When Angus showed up in the middle of the conference, he called Taako Dad.

 

Her friends had been talking about it at school, how Taako Yuno-fromtivi was so secretive. They were interested in his daily life, what kept his brand and school and everything running.

 

“Ren does most of the work.” Izzy said offhandedly, working through some Magic Theory problems. She was taking upper level classes - not a prodigy like her brother, but better than most. 

 

“Headmistress Ren? Why would you say that?” Her tiefling classmate, Jester, leaned forward in her chair. They were in the library during lunch break. Izzy had already eaten the usual ridiculously extravagant meal her father made her. She startled, realizing her mistake. She tried to keep all the stories straight in her head, but she didn’t always succeed.

 

“Clearly Taako is too busy with all his tours or what not to handle everything with his school. And she’s Headmistress for a reason, right?” Izzy had to use evidence the public knew, and not her own knowledge of late night phone calls from a certain elf, papers scattered across the kitchen table, the woman barging into their house at god-awful times in the morning. Ren was a staple in her life, she knew how hard that woman worked for such little public recognition, but she also knew Ren knew what she had signed up for. Izzy did all she could to support her, though, even in small ways. Like insulting her dad and calling him lazy. They were allowed to be critical of celebrities - editorial pieces were still discussing Story and Song and Lucretia’s decisions. Candid shots of the IPRE were all over magazines and newspapers: Lup and Barry on date night, Magnus delivering fully trained dogs, Davenport in foreign cities, Earl Merle on trips with his kids, Lucretia surrounded by hundreds of levitating books. Isabell knew them personally. These images, these stories, that was all everyone else knew. It was hard to keep everything straight, to live with those two sets of information.

 

“He hasn’t had a major tour in a few months, though. He’s got to be doing something.” A half-orc from her science class gestured wildly with his pencil. Izzy knew what her dad was working on: a secret project she didn’t have details on, a new line of cookbooks and cookware, a cooking competition where he was a judge, a new collection of funny socks, a collaboration with the battle wagon racers, and a merch deal with Jess The Beheader. He was definitely doing something. Ren was running most of the school’s operations and the less creative points of the brand, major decisions of course being run by Taako first. Taako was also trying to spend more time with his family. They were all a little older, but he loved them still. He was even seeing Lucretia more often, brunch every other week so they could daydrink and gossip.

 

“I heard rumors of a new clothing line.” That was a close guess from Jester. Izzy sighed. She was tired of this gossiping - something she didn’t have in common with her father - so she focused back on her homework. They had a big family dinner tonight and she wanted as much time as possible free for them. Her friends kept talking

 

At the end of the day, she rode the school bus to the empty house in a nearby neighborhood which held the portal to their secluded house farther outside of the city. Magnus and Johann were already there, as well as both her fathers and her older brother. She heard them in the other room, and she snuck upstairs to change out of the clothes she wore to school. Returning downstairs in a denim shirt dress, black tights, and glitter-covered sneakers, Isabell cleared her throat.

 

“Izzy!” Magnus cheered, rushing over to crush her in a bear hug. Johann hopped around at their feet.

 

“Let my Bell go, Maga, she’s had a long day of boring ol’ school.” Taako waved a spatula at them, turning slightly away from the stove. Kravitz was doing paperwork at the counter, but he gave his daughter a smile when Magnus released her. She went to sit beside him after giving Taako a kiss on the cheek.

 

“How was your day, sweetie?” Kravitz shuffled a few sheets around, copying over information. Angus was silent at the table in the corner, reviewing something she couldn’t see.

 

“Fine. I actually, uh, wanted to talk to you guys about something that got..brought up?” Taako turned the heat down on the stove and covered the pot, using mage hand to set a timer. He leaned against the counter across from her. Magnus said something about taking Johann for a walk before disappearing.

 

“What’s up, pumpkin?” Izzy took a deep breath and mentally steeled herself.

 

“Why can’t I tell people about you?” Kravitz stopped writing while Taako froze for just a split second. Then, in a flash, he was around the counter sitting on the other stool beside his daughter.

 

“Izzy, we’ve talked about this.” He started, but she shook her head.

 

“No, we haven’t. Whenever I even mention something adjacent to the topic, you circumnavigate.”

 

“Agnes, stop teaching your sister big words.” Taako shot a look at Angus, who didn’t look up as he flipped his dad the finger. “Iz, Listen, it’s completely normal for celebrities to keep their kids out of the limelight.”

 

“But they don’t even know I exist, dad!” She jumped off her chair, whirling around to face him. She froze up then, staring down at his velvet shoes. “Do you..are you ashamed of me or something? Did I do something wrong?” She felt a cold hand on her arm and a now standing Kravitz led her into a comforting hug.

 

“We could never be ashamed of you, Isabell. You’re the best things that’s ever happened to us.” The reaper ghosted his hand down her hair, in the way he always did when she was upset. Taako snorted.

 

“I wouldn’t always have said that, but let’s roll with it for now. Izzy, pumpkin, look at me.” She lifted her head from her father’s chest to stare at the elf still resting on the stool. His hands, however, were clasped together tightly and slightly shaking. “Izzy, I tried to take you on tour when you were just a baby and you fucking hated it. It was overwhelming, and I never wanted you to have to deal with that ever again. So I made a decision. I told the reporters you were a kid I was watching for the orphanage. Just being a nice guy, good for my brand, the whole shebang. You were scared of Merle for a while and I wouldn’t let you near him. I’m...protective of the ones I love. Bellum, I never meant for you to feel this way.  _ I fucking hate emotions, why are you making me do this _ . Iz, if you want to...come out, I guess, HA, to the press, by all means run that risk and play that game. I’ve made such a wonderful space for you to play in, natch. But realize that it’s hell out there. Once you understood not to go in the front yard, I put all the damn traps back, you know this. Everything you do, everything you say, is scrutinized beyond all get out. Hachi machi, is it hard to get used to. I fought against the Hunger for a century, and I still fear the wrong questions and too many people. So,” he rose, patting her arm before walking back to the stove, “You do you and all that, but if shit blows out, that’s your fucking problem. We can always drop you somewhere.” Isabell laughed.

 

“You always say that but you never commit.”

 

“When you were a toddler, he got as far as locating the nearest shelter. He didn’t follow through.” Angus piped in from the table.

 

“I will fucking disown you, twerp.” Taako pointed his spatula at Angus, who chuckled.

 

“I only have worse stories to release, dad.” The human winked at Taako, the nerve, and returned to his work. The kitchen was quiet as Kravitz released his daughter with a kiss on the forehead.

 

“We love you, Isabell, and we’ll support you no matter what you do as long (as it isn’t necromancy). I only wish you told us sooner this was bothering you.” Kravitz smiled gently at her and she shrugged.

 

“It was..it was kinda like how dad would describe after Story and Song? Living with two sets of memories? What I know about my family is stuff the public doesn’t. Sometimes it’s hard to switch, or know which one I’m supposed to draw from. I was playing too many parts, and I’d rather just be your perfect and wonderful daughter.” She smiled at her dads and they smiled back, Taako’s slightly more strained. They’d probably talk more about those specific feelings later. Whatever. Everyone returned to their work.

 

“Soooooooo,” Izzy began, sinking back down into her seat, “I can talk to my friends about you and the whole family? And we can go out without Disguise Self? All that normal family stuff?” Taako shrugged.

 

“We’ll probably need to talk to Ren about it. This is kinda a major brand thing, she’ll need to make her usual five billion contingency plans.” Isabell beamed.

 

“Is she coming to dinner tonight?”

 

“Probably, if she isn’t buried ear deep in paperwork. She really puts too much on her plate. Maybe we should find her an assistant…”

 

The evening went on better after that. Her whole family showed up. They ate, played games, caught up. Isabell told them about the duel she saw at school the other week, and the senior prank that went haywire real quick, and how she beat this jock at arm wrestling because he said she was ‘undergrown’.

 

Isabell was so happy to have her family surrounding her and loving her. How could it possibly get better than this?

  
  


**Epilogue:**

 

Ren helped Isabell set up her reveal. Let’s just say things started off with a ~BANG~.

 

The first tour of Sizzle It Up with Taako and Isabell, run during her summer break, was a huge success. Apparently she wasn’t terrified of crowds anymore. Fame had its moments, of course, but she loved experiencing her dad on stage first-hand.

 

Isabell had a brand all her own now. Smaller, but hers. She couldn’t thank her family enough.


End file.
